Waltz
by emberin
Summary: A general and his queen: the story of their dance together, told in three. /three: in which the two are brought together - "How about I take your arm? The queen and her victorious general, I think that's fair."/
1. one: in which one steps forward

Waltz

one: in which one steps forward

* * *

><p><em>To General Ike of the Crimean Royal Army:<em>

_Your presence is requested at the annual Begnion Summer Ball hosted by Her Holiness, Apostle Sanaki. Please be at Mainal Cathedral on the second full moon of summer. Proper attire and demeanour is expected._

_Sincerely,_

_Sephiran, Duke Persis, Prime Minister of the Begnion Empire_

"This is absolute rubbish," a certain blue-haired young man said indignantly, throwing the elegant letter down onto his already cluttered desk. He had, admittedly, never really handled paperwork – he let Soren handle all of that back with the mercenaries. After all, when your profession was supposedly just hack, slash, dodge and the occasional shock recovery, what use was paper?

But this – and other such things – was beyond his control. At such a time in Crimea's history, he couldn't really say no to helping out, not to mention he couldn't really say no to Queen Elincia, which is why he had stayed on as the Crimean army's general anyway. He had expected the paperwork, though perhaps not this vast quantity, and he had expected the court formalities. Yet the same thought was now running through the young general's mind incessantly: another dance?

Ike needed air.

He walked out of his suite of rooms into one of Castle Crimea's many impressive hallways, over paths he had trod before whenever he had felt the need to escape the tedium of deskwork. In his mind, a general should be out on the field, commanding battle, instead of locked in a castle shifting papers like he was in his current predicament.

Of course, with the fall of Mad King Ashnard and other such recent events, the need for a general to lead an army was not exactly present. But the reconstruction was fragile, so Elincia had requested that he remain as general in case anything should happen. He never went so far as to think that he actually wanted another war just so he could get his sword swinging again, but he did miss the old life. Almost no papers, no formalities, and certainly no _dances_.

Passing by a window, Ike poked his blue-topped head out to admire the beautiful cerulean sky. The city of Melior bustled a short distance away, while the fields and gardens of Castle Crimea called out to him from below. Oh, it wouldn't hurt to swing by for a few moments, he thought. Ike may well have succeeded, too, if it were not for the fact that the queen had also chosen to take a stroll along the hallways of Castle Crimea, presumably from her own set of papers. And it was another stroke of luck that brought them to the same hall.

"My lord Ike," she began politely. "What brings you out here?"

"Elincia." He paused, trying to think of the right words to say. "I was trying to get some fresh air, that's all."

"Isn't there a window in your room, my lord? Does it not please you?"

"No, it's just that the breeze wasn't blowing in that direction today," Ike bluffed. Well, it was true that the breeze _wasn't_ blowing that way… "But please, Elincia, no titles."

"Very well… Sir Ike," Elincia continued, and to Ike's slight annoyance she had tacked on a 'sir', "are you sure it's not just because the Melior streets look that much more appealing to you on a day like this? The weather is quite fine today, after all." She walked up to the window he was at and took a look outside as well, the wind gently rustling her hair. "I wouldn't mind a walk down there myself, but I probably shouldn't. The papers on my desk will just stack up…"

Ike wasn't sure whether this statement was simply a sympathetic lament or an attempt to guilt-trip him back to his desk. Whatever it was, though, he found himself considering walking back to his deskwork all of a sudden.

"I should probably get going," he said. "I guess I should work on my papers too…" Somewhat dejected at having lost his opportunity to slip off, and to the queen of all people, he slowly took a few steps backward to see Elincia off. However, Ike failed to notice a jut in the stone floor, causing him to trip and promptly fall backwards. Elincia's proximity only meant that she got kicked down when Ike's feet slipped out from underneath him, so that her face landed neatly on Ike's stomach.

"Ouch…" Ike was about to get up when he felt the sound thump of Elincia's head. Instinctively, he reached down to rub where it hurt, only to stop at the touch of… hair.

Elincia's hair.

"Goddess!" he muttered. "I'm sorry, Elincia. I probably should have watched where I was going." Ike waited until Elincia had safely gotten up, then pushed himself up off the floor. He felt his face heat up; whether it was from shame or embarrassment, Ike wasn't sure, though he was willing to bet that it was some combination of the two.

"You caught my fall," Elincia replied. "You have my thanks, Sir Ike." She smiled, though her cheeks also had a reddish tinge.

Ike was about to insist that he was the one who had initiated the fall to begin with when Elincia's face suddenly lit up like she had remembered something.

"Oh, Sir Ike! Did you get the letter from Duke Sephiran?"

"What letter – oh, that letter." Ike didn't try to hide his sigh. Elincia knew his stance on such things. "Yes, I received it."

"Have you sorted out your wardrobe or deportment yet?"

"Elincia, you know I don't do those things. This ball is just like all the other ones that I've been invited to. You can tell me how many of them I've gone to." Ike was happy to tell himself mentally that the answer was zero.

Elincia wouldn't take that for an answer, he knew.

"This is the _Begnion Summer Ball_," she stressed. "Stories tell of terrible consequences for those who do not follow through on invitations. They're based somewhat on true fact; Begnion does not look kindly upon the families of those who have rejected. Plus, the invitations are hand-picked by the Apostle. Do you really want Empress Sanaki to get personally offended that you chose not to show up?"

"You're exaggerating." Ike knew she was not. Begnion was, in his opinion, just sometimes a little off of its theocratic rocker.

"Therefore," Elincia continued, almost as though she had just ignored Ike's interjection, "you are going to learn how to dance. Unless, of course, your real talents were not revealed at the victory ball?"

Ike didn't need Elincia to remind him of his performance at the banquet celebrating Elincia's ascent to the throne. Secretly, it was partly the reason he never went to formal balls and such – who would purposely go somewhere to publicly humiliate himself? He could feel himself redden once more, though this time for a different reason.

"Me, dance?" Ike raised an eyebrow. "Elincia, there is no way on Tellius that – "

"You are going to learn how to dance," Elincia interjected, "and I shall teach you."

Ike blinked.

"You?" he asked incredulously. The queen was going to take time out of her ridiculously busy schedule to teach _him_? This ball obviously meant a lot, if Elincia was going to be this insistent.

"Well, if you do not wish for me to teach you, I could hand the task over to Geoffrey and Lucia instead…"

"No, no…" The last thing Ike wanted was Elincia's two hands descending on him and expecting him to hold up the glory of Crimea and slave-driving him. He already had sneaking suspicions that Geoffrey had something against him for reasons he didn't know of, and Lucia just scared him sometimes. "I have no objections."

"Very well," Elincia said, sounding quite pleased with herself, "we shall start tonight. Meet me in the ballroom at the ninth bell."

"… tonight?"

"It's better the more time we have to teach you, yes?" Taking his silence as agreement, she said, "I will see you at the ninth bell, then," and walked off down the hallway, leaving Ike to watch her as she left.

Ike still wasn't quite sure whether Elincia was genuinely concerned for his dancing skills or if he was still lacking some fresh air. Elincia would never be this pushy…

* * *

><p>I haven't written anything in a really long time, whoo. This is an idea of mine that's roughly two years old; this part feels a little disjointed because I kind of dug it out, even when I tried rewriting it, so I don't know how I feel about it. I do know, however, that basically I wanted to write happy!IkeElincia that was also potentially timeline canon, so... yeah. Yay?


	2. two: in which one sweeps across

Waltz

two: in which one sweeps across

* * *

><p>At the ninth bell, Ike gingerly pushed open the door to the large ballroom, carefully sticking a foot in to enter as inconspicuously as possible. The last thing he needed was rumours flying around that he had some sort of ballroom fetish or something. Not surprisingly, he found Elincia waiting for him, sitting on a nearby chair.<p>

"Shall we get this moving?" Ike asked. He didn't bother trying to hide his impatience and slight reluctance. In response, Elincia got up and walked to the centre of the ballroom, looking back as though to beckon him. Ike followed, not sure how to approach Elincia. He couldn't tell whether she was just being naïve or acting naïve on purpose and ignoring his apathetic attitude towards dancing altogether.

"There are many types of dances used in the court," Elincia said. "Tonight we'll be starting off the waltz, since it is most favoured by Begnion."

"So if I'm lucky, I could sit out all the other types of dances?" Ike asked. He really didn't want to have to learn ten kinds of dances. Sword moves took practice enough as it was.

Elincia looked as though she was in deep thought. "I suppose, with the structure of the ball and all," she mused. "But enough about that. First we have to start with position." She moved to his right so that they were facing in the same direction.

"In a waltz, the male is typically the leader. What you have to do is extend your left hand to your side – " Elincia demonstrated, " – bend your elbow slightly and have the palm raised, facing your partner." Ike took the hint that he was supposed to copy her, though finding the action very awkward.

The queen turned to face her new pupil, looking over Ike's arm for a few moments in deep thought. Ike watched as she scanned his posture over, nodding to herself like she had approved of her own sculpture.

"Now, with your left hand, hold my right hand." Elincia assumed a similar position, except mirroring Ike instead. Ike reached out for Elincia's hand and grasped it, feeling very conscious of the action. It wasn't like he hadn't held her hand before – leading her around camp, getting her off a horse, those all required holding her hand – but those were all sort of out of a sense of duty, weren't they?

Well, he could just think of waltzing as a duty. But it was still different. Ike wasn't quite sure why, but he felt uncomfortable with their proximity. Evidently his discomfort was written on his face, however, as Elincia asked, "Is something wrong, Sir Ike?"

"N-no, it's nothing. What's next?"

"To finish the position, you put your right hand – " Elincia took his right hand in her left and placed it at her waist, " – here. Your partner will put her hand on your left shoulder like this." To demonstrate, she placed her hand lightly on his shoulder, resting it so her arm bent out slightly. Ike watched, not entirely sure why he kept staring at the hand on his shoulder or why his right hand was now particularly tingly.

"The waltz is a dance in two sets of three steps. Each set of three also follows a set of three in the music. We don't have any music right now, but we'll be going slowly at first anyway so it's all right." She looked down at their feet. "The first beat, you move your left foot forward. I'll step back on my right." At that, she moved her right foot backward, waiting for Ike to move along with her. Ike took that as his cue, and he shuffled his left foot forward.

Elincia giggled. Ike looked up from the ground, slightly puzzled. Had he done something wrong? Was his foot in the wrong place? He looked back down at his feet – no, left foot was forward, not right, and it was just in front of her right foot like she had told him to do. Was there something on his face, then?

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Sorry, I just think it's interesting that you're so… careful," she answered, stifling a laugh. "You usually just jump right into things, so it's almost… strange to see you like this." However, it still seemed like she relished the thought, because she couldn't help but keep giggling.

Ike frowned. This was totally unfair. He never laughed at Elincia for not knowing how to buckle a scabbard or anything like that, so why on Tellius did she get to make fun of him now? His facial expression had somewhat of the opposite effect that he wanted, though, because Elincia only continued to laugh upon seeing his disapproval.

"If it helps, it's no different from learning fighting stances – at least, that's how I would compare them," Elincia suggested. "Maybe you could try learning it that way?"

Combat positions – okay, Ike thought, he could do those.

"On the second beat, you move your right foot to the right and then upwards, so it looks like you're tracing a corner," Elincia continued, evidently taking Ike's silence as comprehension. She demonstrated by moving her own right leg to the right and then upwards, and Ike copied her. "Now shift your weight to your right leg, and on the third beat move your left foot next to your right one."

"So… like this?" Ike asked, doing as Elincia had told him to. Elincia nodded. "Is that it?"

"Well, that's the first set of three. The second set of three is basically what you just did, except backwards," Elincia said, as though putting it that way made things a little easier. Ike could almost feel his brain trying to work out everything backwards while keeping all the steps in mind – left foot up, right foot right and up, left foot next to right foot…

The effort he was making must have been etched on his face, because Elincia couldn't help but avert her gaze slightly and giggle again. It was at this time that Ike realized that he was still holding Elincia's right hand and waist, and started shuffling a little from the proximity.

"Sorry," Elincia finally managed to say as she calmed down. "That was horribly rude of me, Sir Ike. I apologize."

"No, it's all right." Ike tried to recall the steps; he realized that while he was being so aware of his and Elincia's position he had completely lost track of the steps. "Can we go over that again?"

Ike tried to listen carefully as Elincia went over the six steps again, but he found himself drifting in and out of her instructions as his attention wandered from their feet to his right hand on her waist to their clasped hands. They slowly traced the footsteps together, until Ike found himself absently doing the steps on his own.

"Well, it looks like you have the basics down," Elincia said, like she was happy with her pupil's work. "Now there's just one more thing. When we repeat these steps, each time we step up and right, we turn slightly. So for example…" As if to begin another set of steps, she took a step back with her right foot, and Ike took the cue, stepping forward with his left. He was taking his second step – right foot right and up! – when he felt a push on his left arm, as Elincia rotated them slightly to the right. And when they reached the fifth step, again Elincia gently guided him, this time slightly to the left.

This wasn't too bad, Ike thought. He could do this.

"Shall we practise for a little while then?" Elincia suggested. Ike nodded, and the two of them put their feet back in the right position. However, too busy looking at his feet, Ike accidentally knocked his head into Elincia's face, causing her to reel back, clutching her nose with her hand.

"Oww…"

"Elincia! I guess it's my turn to apologize." Ike stepped back, slightly relieved for the break. "I'm sorry about that, I should've been more careful."

"It's all right," Elincia answered, slowly removing her hand from her face. "I guess it was more the shock of it happening than anything else. Pay it no mind. Shall we continue?"

Ike could have sworn she was a bit red in the face – did he hit her that hard? "Are you sure? You don't look all right…"

"It's fine, Sir Ike. Please don't worry about it."

"I will… if you promise you'll only call me Ike. I mean, you were the one who told me to call you Elincia."

Elincia opened her mouth like she was going to object, paused, and then closed it again. "Very well… Ike," she said, like it felt awkward for her to say his name like that. "I did, didn't I? I suppose it's only fair. Well, shall we practice a little longer?"

Ike didn't really have a reason to object, so he nodded and tried to remember the position for the waltz. Taking Elincia's right hand in his left, he put his right hand around her waist.

"Like this, right?" he asked. Elincia put her hand on his right shoulder and smiled.

"Perfect," she said. "Now, I'll be counting 'one, two, three' and those will be our beats." After settling on a tempo, the two of them began, Ike looking down at his feet to make sure he didn't step on Elincia's. Despite how easy they made these things look, Ike supposed that nobles had their fair share of training to do, too. The two of them began to circle around the room, the only sounds being their moving feet and Elincia's quiet counting.

As the two of them waltzed, Ike found himself becoming more and more comfortable with his closeness to Elincia; he was calmer, and he found the steps coming to him more and more easily. The simple 'one, two, three' became background noise, and his eyes went from their feet to the ballroom chandeliers to the emerald of Elincia's hair. Slowly, he stopped thinking of which foot he had to move and onto other things – what would the ball be like? Who would be there? Ranulf better not laugh at him this time – and the dance became somewhat second nature, even with the tingly feeling in his hands.

"Ike? Are you listening?"

"Huh?" Ike looked at the face across from him. Elincia was staring at him like there was something wrong.

"You should pay attention to your partner! If she's an important noble, you can't look like you're ignoring her," Elincia scolded. "That could result in… unfavourable circumstances."

Nobles – easily offended, right. Ike was always glad that Elincia was such a glaring exception to the rule. The thought that he'd be spending an entire night with them, dancing of all things, was disgusting; if it weren't Elincia asking him, he certainly would have refused a long time ago. But… if dancing was just like what he and Elincia were doing now, perhaps it wasn't so bad.

"Right. Always pay attention to – ack!"

For the first time in a while, Ike looked down at his feet. His right foot had caught onto what appeared to be the hem of Elincia's dress, and as she moved underneath the dress had swept his foot along with it, causing him to lose his balance. He managed to stabilize himself, but he had pulled her slightly in the process so that she also lost her balance, and they ended up grabbing each other closely in some kind of embrace. Somehow, though, they had managed to both stay up. Thank goodness, Ike thought. He didn't really need the queen falling on him a second time today.

When they had finally managed to sort themselves out they both stepped back from each other, Elincia slightly red, Ike averting his gaze. He quickly composed himself, though, and went to ask her, "Are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine," Elincia answered. "Just a little caught off guard, I suppose."

"And I thought I'd be able to get through the entire time without tripping my feet… drat," Ike said, somewhat dejected. He had been so close, too. Last time at the coronation ball, Mist and Boyd thought it would be funny to count how many times Ike tripped throughout the night, and it ended at an incredibly embarrassing number. He was determined not to let that happen again.

Elincia smiled. "I still think you've done incredibly well," she said. "You've picked up the dance very quickly."

"Well, I have a great teacher." At Ike's praise, though, Elincia turned away, turning redder than she already had been.

"You flatter me," she said quietly. "I'm not that great…" Before Ike could tell her that yes, she really was that great, something caught both their ears.

"Your Majesty? Where are you?" A familiar voice faintly penetrated through the heavy ballroom doors. It was a voice that Elincia found dear, but one that for some reason only managed to strike fear into Ike's heart every time he heard it…

The large doors opened, and a head of long, light blue hair poked in.

"Oh, there you are!" Lucia said, sighing in what Ike guessed was relief. "I was just wondering where you had gone – you didn't say anything, so…" Her words faded on her tongue as she caught sight of Ike. He tried to remain as calm and impassive as natural, but he had no idea what to expect from Lucia – was he going to get yelled at, or just a quiet glare?

Elincia must have caught on to his concern, however, because she immediately spoke in his defence.

"I was teaching Ike how to do the waltz," she said. "I thought you had enough to do, and I didn't want to burden you or Geoffrey further. That's why I didn't tell you, Lucia. I'm sorry for making you worry."

"For the Summer Ball, correct?" Lucia asked. "I only wish you had told me first, that's all. Well, I won't interrupt you further."

"It's all right, we're pretty much done for tonight," Elincia answered. "Shall I walk back to my rooms with you? I wanted to speak with you tonight, anyway…"

They were done? Ike wasn't sure if he wanted to be done or not; he was glad that he didn't have to dance any more, and yet for some reason he wanted to stay with Elincia, in that room, on their own. It made all that paperwork and diplomacy worth it, somehow. He remembered back to that moment where they had stumbled into an embrace – her slim frame, her green locks…

Clearly, he had been listening to Bastian too much. Still, this feeling left Ike puzzled.

"Are we going to practise again tomorrow?" he asked, not sure what he wanted the answer to be.

Elincia smiled. "Want to dance more already?" she teased.

Before Ike could stammer a retort, she continued, "Don't worry, I'm busy tomorrow, so how about in three days? I'll meet you here at the ninth bell again." She paused." Good night… Ike," she said carefully, like she was remembering Ike's request. With that, Elincia turned to leave with Lucia, leaving a trail of chatter and laughter.

Elincia… sometimes, Ike thought, he completely understood her, and yet there were times where he was still so very confused.

This would be one of those times.

* * *

><p>I like this a lot more than part one, to be honest.<p> 


	3. three: in which the two

Waltz

three: in which the two are brought together

* * *

><p>"Ike, take off that headband."<p>

"This is the last piece of who I am! Elincia, I can't take it off. You can make me wear fancy robes and stuffy shoes, but please, let me keep the headband on."

The scene must have been one for passersby to behold: two young nobles arguing at the side of the hallway in front of the grandiose Mainal Cathedral's ballroom, over what to wear of all things. The queen's retainers had already entered the ballroom – thank goodness, Ike thought, or he would have probably suffered much yelling at by now. Well, maybe Lucia would have just let Elincia take care of it, but Geoffrey probably wouldn't have been so kind. Even luckier for Ike, then, that Geoffrey was taking a place as regent back in Crimea.

"You can't wear that inside," Elincia protested. "I'm pretty sure you read the invitation too. 'Proper attire', they said, and that does not include the headband. At least get a nicer headband, if you insist on wearing one."

Ike looked at the two of them, dressed in the finest things he had probably ever seen either of them wear. Elincia was wearing a pearl white dress, embedded plainly yet elegantly with a few jewels, outlining a simple pattern. A silver tiara rested lightly on her head, so that her green hair stood out against the tone of her clothes. As for himself, his royal blue robe just swept the edge of the floor in its length, with a high collar and a black belt at his waist that held his blade and scabbard. With the silver-embroidered hems, fitted shirt and pants and the black leather boots, he looked every inch the royal commander, but he was afraid that just stepping around would ruin the edges.

This is why he didn't wear fancy things, he thought to himself. He got way too conscious of his clothes. But duty was duty, and he would serve the best he could while he was a lord… even if it unfortunately included dancing.

"You know I don't have nicer ones," he argued. "Just let me wear it, Elincia? I really fail to see how one headband will do anything."

Elincia sighed. "That one headband could cause an entire riot among the nobles that even the Apostle would not able to stop, no matter how much she could possibly hold you in her graces." In a quieter voice, she added, "Crimea's invitation is still an assertion of Begnion's suzerain powers, no matter how friendly everyone may be now… I would be completely powerless." She looked around, like she was checking to make sure no one heard such words come from the queen's mouth.

"Fine," Ike said, resigned, reaching for the back of his head to untie the strip of cloth. The headband came undone, and his blue hair fell down from its perch, slightly shading his eyes. He wasn't used to having the bits of hair in his eyes, but it would have to do. Maybe he could avoid some people's gazes now. He was about to stuff the headband in one of his pockets when Elincia took it from his hand and tied it around the handle of his blade.

"There," she finished, satisfied. "At least this way, it won't look as out of place. Now, shall we go in?"

"Wait," Ike said. "Do I have to walk you in or something? Stand two paces behind? I mean, no one normally walks in with the queen, right?"

"Well, being on ceremony is something I'm unused to still, myself," Elincia mused. "How about I take your arm? The queen and her victorious general, I think that's fair. They're not announcing anyone but the Apostle tonight, anyway."

Unsure where to even begin, Ike awkwardly bent out his right arm for Elincia. As if she was telling him to relax, she smoothed out his arm and gently held it below the elbow with her gloved left hand. He turned to look at her, and she smiled at him.

"Are you ready, my general?" she asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Ike answered, giving a little shrug. "It's just another dance, right?"

Elincia laughed lightly. "'Just another dance'? I thought it was only the other day that you were avoiding these dances like the plague and that you wanted nothing to do with them."

"I wasn't… properly ready for them," Ike managed to say. "Now I feel a little better. In any case, it's not like I plan on dancing the entire night anyway, who knows how many dances I won't be able to do?"

"In any case, we won't know until we actually go inside. Shall we?" At Ike's nod, the two of them walked toward the open double-door entrance, into the grandest ballroom either had ever seen.

Grand was perhaps even an understatement. The room was extremely large, for starters; it must have been at least one and a half times the size of the ballroom at Castle Crimea, Ike figured, and the decorations that lined every inch of it were extremely ornate. The floor appeared to be polished marble from how his boots clicked on the ground at each step, the stone walls had intricate carvings and gilded patterns, and from the ceiling hung many grand hand-lit chandeliers, lighting every corner of the room. Equally as amazing was how full the room was – granted, there were several long tables at either end of the room where everyone sat for dinner, but from the looks of how many people had gathered that night, there would certainly be more than enough to take up the remaining space when the dancing began.

With the hustle and bustle of the ballroom and the flow of traffic in and out, the two of them went relatively unnoticed, but a few heads still turned at the sight of Queen Elincia and a face that some could not immediately recognize but eventually made out to be General Ike. As they walked past some of the tables, they heard some nobles whisper; Ike ignored them – after all, they were nobles whom he could care less about – but he noticed Elincia making an effort to keep her head high. It was something so minute that only a few would notice, but he did.

He wanted to tell her to ignore them, that they were completely irrelevant. He knew it wasn't in her nature, though, so he let her handle it on her own. Regardless, they reached their table soon enough, where they were greeted by Lucia, Bastian and a few other Crimean nobles.

"Ah, our fair emerald has finally graced us with her ever-radiant presence!" Bastian declared, gesturing to two seats for them. "And on the arm of Crimea's dashing young hero, no less – how fitting is this entrance to the grandest of summer dances!"

"Enough of your silver tongue, Bastian," Lucia scolded. Turning to Elincia, she said, "The Apostle and the Prime Minister should be entering soon, so you two just made it in time." In a quieter tone, so that the other nobles at the table could not hear, she asked, "What took you so long, anyway?"

"There were… complications," Elincia answered, settled on a word describing their little argument outside. "I guess it was lucky that we managed to sort them out." Lucia's gaze darted to Ike, and suddenly he was glad that his headband wasn't there to hold his hair up from hiding his eyes.

Before Lucia got a chance to ask either him or the queen about the circumstances, however, the trumpets sounded and the heralds called for the assembly's attention.

"Announcing Her Holiness, Apostle Sanaki, Empress of the Begnion Theocracy, and His Excellency, Prime Minister Sephiran, Duke Persis!" At that, everyone in the room stood up and watched as Sanaki and Sephiran walked into the room. Decked in her resplendent red robes, the Apostle made up for her lack of height in the grandness of her attire, so that she still remained as imposing as her eleven-year old body would let her. Sephiran, standing two paces behind and to the right of her, was no less impressive; his white robes adorned with edges of purple and black were perhaps a little simpler in design, but befitting of his tall, regal presence.

"I would like to thank you all for coming today," Sanaki greeted. "For us to gather here once again, this year is a blessing marked by the restoration of Crimea's throne to Queen Elincia – " she gestured over to the green-haired noble, " – and the gathering of our laguz neighbours here as well." Ike noticed that the laguz present were sitting at another table, and that despite Sanaki's welcome most of the Begnion nobility were still not shy in hiding their discomfort.

He remembered then that Elincia had said that this ball was a personal extension of invitations from the Apostle herself, and wondered if this was an attempt to make amends with the laguz nations. Not that it mattered to him – yes, it would definitely be nice, but even he in all his ignorance and optimism knew one ball wouldn't set things straight. He had to admit that the gesture on both sides was nice, for the Apostle to send the invitation and for the laguz royalty to come to Begnion. Those nobles would just have to stuff it.

"In the light of this wonderful celebration, may you all eat, drink and be merry!" the Apostle finished, to a resounding cheer. Once she and Sephiran had taken their seats, the servants came out with magnificent dishes of food, the musicians at the end of the room began playing, and eventually a few people went out into the middle of the ballroom to dance – first Sanaki and Sephiran, as it was customary for the Apostle to begin the dance, then a few nobles, then a few more until the ballroom floor filled with dancing pairs.

Ike watched the people dancing – the pavane, he remembered it being called – and found himself tracking their slow, well-placed steps across the floor. The night-time training sessions with Elincia had taught him the steps to a few court dances, this being one of the few he was able to master. Still, he would have been more than content with just watching, if he didn't suddenly come face-to-face with a very familiar blue-marked face.

"Ranulf?" Ike blinked. Well, he did expect him to come – Ranulf was one of King Caineghis's most trusted helpers, after all. Perhaps a little unrecognizable in his orange finery and without his trademark flap-eared headband, but his light blue hair and long tail were a giveaway.

"Well, look who's all fancied up for tonight!" the cat laguz joked, giving one of his grins. "Pardon me, Your Majesty. I must say, you looked splendid walking in today, and on the arm of this guy, no less." Ranulf gave Ike a nudge with his elbow. "You guys did quite a number on him, didn't you? Gallia's greetings go out to you as well, Lady Lucia, Count Bastian." With his best manners, Ranulf went around greeting everyone else at the table.

"Sir Ranulf, is it only you present tonight from Gallia?" Elincia asked. "As much as I would love to speak with King Caineghis again, I imagine that the journey here would not have been without trouble."

Ranulf nodded. "Master Giffca is here too, but you're very right, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, the beast tribes lack mobility, so we have to keep rulers in our country. Not to mention, a large group of us walking through to Begnion would probably scare a bunch of civilians…" He trailed off. "Well, in any case, why aren't you dancing? To have the queen of Crimea sitting on a chair while the ballroom floor is full of people is practically a crime!" As if to rectify the situation, he immediately offered his hand to Elincia with a flourish.

"Your Majesty, might I offer you this dance? I understand that the current music would suit your beorc waltz," Ranulf said, perking his ears. It was only at this that Ike realized that the music had changed, and that it was the somewhat familiar three-beat pattern.

"Certainly, Sir Ranulf," Elincia replied, taking the gloved hand and following Ranulf to the ballroom's open floor, leaving the table of Crimean nobles to slowly disperse and dance on their own. Bastian made his own fancy gesture and took a slightly unwilling Lucia along with him, and most of the other nobles, along with their wives, took to dance as well. Seeing this, Ike decided to wander on his own, and made his way across to where he saw a bunch of familiar wings.

"Ah, Ike!" Janaff called out twenty paces away, and Ike recalled the power of the Hawk King's eyes. "Or General Ike, I guess. Almost didn't recognize you there, even with my eyesight."

"Why is everyone saying that to me today?" Ike said, the exasperation only showing slightly in his voice. "But it's nice to see you two as well, Janaff, Ulki." Ulki bowed slightly in response. "Where's Tibarn?"

"Out there with Leanne," Janaff pointed at the crowd of waltzing people. Even without the vision of his hawk friend, Ike could see the two pairs of wings rotating around, the white pair slightly wobbling around. She must be a little confused too, Ike thought to himself, and he couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"And Reyson? I can't imagine Leanne being here without him too," Ike asked.

"Prince Reyson is… understandably a little at unease," Ulki answered cautiously, aware that the ballroom had many ears other than his very own talented pair. "He went out for some fresh air."

"No, I'm right here, Ulki," a voice interrupted, and Ike turned to see the blond Serenes prince approaching them. "Ike, it's good to see you again."

"You too, Reyson," Ike replied. "To be honest, I didn't think I'd see you here."

Reyson looked out at the dancing people. "I didn't think I'd be here either," he said, his little sigh not going unnoticed by Ike. "But you know Leanne. When she learned that the Apostle had personally invited us, she pestered both me and Tibarn into coming. Something about accepting her favour as a sign of friendship. She was always a big fan of dances anyway, though she wasn't very good at them herself…" The four of them watched as Leanne continued to rotate with Tibarn's help, not without the occasional flap of her wings, which startled the nearby couples.

"I'm pretty impressed with Tibarn," the blue-haired general commented. "For all his… history with beorc, I wouldn't think he'd know our dances."

"I think that's the only one he knows," Reyson said, the traces of a smile on his face. "On top of making us come, Leanne also made us learn at least one of your dances. In the end, we learned them better than she did, but Tibarn certainly didn't go through it without complaining. 'We have wings for flying, so why are we dancing?' or something like that, Ulki?" The hawk nodded.

"For a leader to be unable to dance a beorc dance at a beorc gathering would be undiplomatic," Ulki added. "Or so he told us, but we have reason to believe that a certain individual gave him… a kind of encouragement." Ike didn't need to ask who that might have been, judging by the looks on the others' faces.

"Speaking of leaders," Janaff said, "Ike, why aren't you out dancing with the queen? You're her general, after all. Shouldn't you be dancing with her?"

"Uh, Ranulf asked her for a dance, and she agreed, so they're out there now," Ike said, pointing. It was hard to miss the queen's emerald hair and Ranulf's furry blue tail. "I mean, I should let them be, right?"

Janaff laughed. "That sneaky cat, he's just telling you to get out there! Probably why he intentionally asked the queen, too."

"He's currently offering Her Majesty a bet on how long it would take for you to ask her," Ulki said. Ike attributed the knowledge to the hawk's ears. "The queen is betting in your favour."

"Well, get a move on!" Janaff lightly shoved Ike in the back. "The general can't be disappointing Her Majesty now, can he?" At the hawks' urging, Ike walked into the dancing space, trying to avoid the other waltzing couples. Eventually he made it to Ranulf and Elincia, and the two of them stopped.

"Elincia," Ike began, "can I have this dance?" He offered his hand, not with the fancy gestures that Ranulf gave – he definitely couldn't do those – but simply, albeit a little uncertainly. Taking a look back at the two hawks that had pushed him here, he noted that Janaff was very visibly containing laughter and that even Ulki had traces of a grin on his face. As Elincia slipped her hand into his, he also noticed that Ranulf had a reaction very similar to Janaff's.

"It would be my pleasure," Elincia answered. Turning to Ranulf, she said in a satisfied tone, "I believe, Sir Ranulf, that I have won my wager?"

Ranulf laughed, and then shrugged. "I suppose you have, Your Majesty. I shall perform my duties as requested." Taking a bow, he was about to leave when he quickly faced Ike and said, "Take care of Her Majesty's feet? If I remember correctly, your last performance left something to be desired – "

"Stuff it, Ranulf," Ike interrupted. He was not going to let that cat win again. "Just go do… whatever it was Elincia told you to do."

"Oh, it will be done," was the reply, completely with a wink, and Ranulf flounced off to the hawks, seemingly eager to pass on what had happened even though they all knew Janaff had caught every motion and Ulki every word. In any case, it had left Ike and Elincia alone, though not without a few dancing pairs now watching them keenly. Remembering that he had to lead, Ike took his position with Elincia, with his left hand clasping her right and his right hand on her waist. He felt tingly again, except that unlike previous times where it was his hands, this time it was through his entire body – maybe it was the fact that everyone was watching, he didn't know.

Ike took his first step forward with his left foot, Elincia stepped back with her right, and they soon entered the rhythm that they had been practicing together. The first few cycles Ike had his gaze down at their feet, but eventually he settled into the pattern, looking again at Elincia from her light brown eyes to the shining silver necklace around her neck to her flowing white dress. They danced wordlessly for a few minutes, and then Elincia broke the silence.

"Did you catch on to Sir Ranulf's idea, Ike?" she asked. "Or are you dancing here merely of your own accord?"

"I – what?" Ike was confused. "I mean, Ulki overheard you and Ranulf making a bet on when I'd ask you to dance, and you bet sooner than he did, and then Janaff said that I really couldn't disappoint you, and I suppose I can't, can I?" By Elincia's soft laughter he deduced that he was definitely missing out on something.

"I suppose it worked out in the end," she said thoughtfully. "Pay it no mind, then." Her statement made Ike think of it no less, perhaps even more than he already was; between the hawks, Elincia and Ranulf, what could have happened? Again, Ike's confusion must have been apparent on his face, because Elincia was enjoying herself very much from simply watching him.

Ike didn't have much more time to dwell on the matter, however, because at that moment he and Elincia were approached by Sephiran and Sanaki. Elincia paused mid-step, and Ike had to be careful not to step on her feet when he stopped as well, gracelessly halting and leaning over slightly to balance himself. This put him in a somewhat compromising position with him looking like he was going to fall over onto his partner, but luckily he managed to straighten himself before he caught more attention than they were already getting.

"It seems you two have been dancing well," Sephiran began. "You've certainly caught the attention of quite a few." At that, the glancing and muttering nobles quickly turned away, like children caught stealing a cookie. "However, might I ask Queen Crimea for a dance? I should not hope to end the night without a dance from our beautiful guest. I apologize, General Ike, for stealing your partner away," the Prime Minister added.

"Uh, no, it's not a problem," Ike answered. "I mean, it's up to Elincia, right?" He let go of Elincia's hand and stepped back. For some reason, he found himself feeling a little bit sad, but he wasn't quite sure why, and he felt a little worse when he saw Elincia take Sephiran's hand with a smile, like he didn't want her to be like that.

"Certainly, Prime Minister," Elincia said. "It would be my honour."

As Elincia and Sephiran began waltzing away, Ike stood and watched, and the other couples began dancing again. It wasn't until Sanaki cleared her throat that he turned around and noticed her tapping her foot impatiently with a slight frown on her face, like she was expecting something from him.

"Is there… something that I should be doing?" Ike asked.

"Well, you should be asking me to dance right now," the Apostle said, slightly peeved. "You can't leave the Empress without a partner at her own ball. It seems like you still have a lot to learn."

Ike sighed. He never knew what was expected of him, especially when it came to this purple-haired Apostle.

"Very well… Sana – Your Holiness," he began, trying to hide any hint of exasperation, "might I have this dance?" He extended his hand, as with Elincia, and the young Empress took it in hers. Maybe it was her height, but Ike didn't feel that tingly feeling in his hand when he danced with Elincia. It was strange; he wasn't sure why.

Like before, he took a step with his left foot forward, and Sanaki took a step back with her right, and they waltzed like Elincia had taught him. Ike was careful not to step on Sanaki's small feet, but she was more than capable, and so they danced without any problems. His mind wandered to other things, from the chandeliers to the marble floors to the whispers about the mysterious blue-haired man dancing with the Apostle, but periodically he would think of green, and he would look over at Sephiran and Elincia, and he would feel strange.

"It looks like you've been taught well," Sanaki said, startling Ike. To be honest, he hadn't been expecting her to speak to him. "And you're dressed quite properly, too. Queen Elincia did a good job with you." The young Empress nodded approvingly.

"I'll be sure to thank her," Ike answered. "She kept saying how important this thing was, and I can't really let her down."

"You're learning," Sanaki commented. "I'm impressed. I wouldn't have thought that a common mercenary like you would be able to pick up on so many court behaviours."

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not here to stay. When this whole situation calms down, I'm going back to being a mercenary. Right now, Elincia needs me, but Crimea will eventually be fine on its own again." He knew that Sephiran had laughed at the idea, but Ike hadn't been expecting Sanaki to stifle a laugh at this, too. "What's so funny?"

Sanaki giggled, but quickly composed herself. "Nothing," she said. "I suppose if you don't realize it yet, then there's nothing I can do to help you." Ike found himself slightly irked at Sanaki's implication that he wouldn't understand, but he thought to himself that if that was the case then maybe it was something about the aristocracy that he didn't want to know. Besides, he already knew that the Empress had that view of him, and he didn't particularly care.

The music gradually came to an end, and the couples dancing took their last spin and stopped, giving each other bows and curtsies. Ike stopped too, more carefully than his last attempt, and let go of Sanaki's hand, stepping back to give a bow. The Apostle gave him a small curtsy in return.

"Well, it was quite the surprising pleasure." Sanaki smiled. "I have to admit, I somewhat expected to have a problem with your feet, but I had a remarkably good time."

"Uh… thanks," was Ike's response. He couldn't think of anything else that he could have said at that moment, or at least nothing that wouldn't have affronted the Apostle.

"Your Holiness, might I have this next dance with you?" An unfamiliar figure walked up to Ike and Sanaki, bowing and offering Sanaki his hand. Ike assumed he was a Begnion noble, but in any case he was thankful for the man's appearance. Sanaki curtsied and accepted the hand gracefully – or as gracefully as an eleven-year old could, anyway.

"Certainly, Duke Asmin," the Empress said. "General, I hope that you will be able to enjoy the rest of the night." As she left with the duke, Ike had to admit that for her slight haughtiness, the Apostle was at least a good hostess.

The next dance was one that he did not recognize, so he decided to excuse himself from the room before anyone could ask him to embarrass himself by not knowing the steps. On his way out of the ballroom, he caught sight of Ranulf and Ulki watching an uncharacteristically bashful Lucia accept the hand of Janaff after finishing a dance with Bastian, and wondered if this had anything to do with the wager that the cat laguz was speaking to Elincia about earlier. What was it that Elincia had thought he would know?

Thinking that a breath of air from the ballroom would be a welcome refresher for his mind, Ike stepped out and walked down one of the nearby hallways, choosing to lean against a wall. As he watched one of the candles on the wall flicker, he tried to piece together some thoughts. Ranulf asked Elincia to dance, and then they made a wager on how long it would take for him to ask Elincia for a dance. Ulki overheard them, and together Ulki and Janaff urged him to go ask Elincia. Ike remembered that clearly.

But… there was no way that Ranulf couldn't have known about the Hawk King's ears, meaning that he knew Ulki would hear, and that the message would be brought up to Ike.

Was that it? Was that what Elincia meant?

"My lo- Ike?"

His thoughts interrupted, Ike turned to the direction of the voice to see Elincia walking toward him, looking somewhat confused at why he was out in the hallway to begin with, he guessed. With the many candles along the walls, light scattered across her dress like drops of dew, making it look like she herself was glowing.

"I was just wondering where you had gone to," she said. "Despite all my insistence, I apologize for bringing you to a place you didn't want to come to. It must be taxing… I'm sorry."

"Well, you said there wasn't much choice in the matter, was there?" Ike shrugged. "I'm not about to let you down."

"No, it's just that – "

"Look, if Tibarn of all people can learn to waltz, then I'd be ashamed if I couldn't," Ike said. "Besides, I guess it wasn't… so bad." And it hadn't been; it was a strange happiness he felt when he danced with Elincia, and it was nice to meet up with the friends and comrades he had made during the Mad King's War under more peaceful circumstances, even though he wasn't sure if he was ready to admit that it was dancing with the queen that made him happier, even by the slightest bit.

Elincia smiled, like she was relieved. "I suppose it was for the best, then, though I hope you're not just saying that for my sake." The queen looked at his face, deep in thought, like she was trying to see through the bits of blue hair that dangled over his eyes. "You know, some of the court ladies were talking about the blue-haired general who had the Crimean queen's arm," she said, and Ike wasn't sure if there was a slightly teasing tone in her voice. "The dashing figure with the hair that mysteriously hung over those vibrant blue eyes, who had command of the waltz and the acquaintance of the Apostle… among the circles of the Begnion noblewomen, you seem to have made quite the name for yourself."

Ike could feel his face reddening at the lavish descriptions. "Elincia, I think that's definitely overblown –"

"Oh, I heard bits and pieces here and there," Elincia replied, shrugging slightly. "They were so disappointed that their object of affection wasn't asking any of them to dance, and they constantly wondered what you were thinking behind that gaze of yours. I have to admit, there is something about the way the hair falls over your eyes…"

She reached down to Ike's sword, skilfully untying the piece of cloth that she herself had tied onto the handle earlier while looking down either end of the hall. Reassured that they were alone, she reached around his head with the headband, tying the ends together at the back. The queen then pulled it up onto Ike's head slightly, so that the strands of hair previously covering his vision were lifted again.

"But I like you best like this," Elincia finished, as she fixed the few loose pieces of hair so that they hung comfortably over the headband. "Like this, when I can see your eyes, the eyes that give me so much confidence as the queen's general."

Confidence. Did Ike give her confidence? He didn't know; there was so much he felt that he had received instead, and from her no less. The dancing lessons, the little pointers, a better understanding of a world so far from his own – he had Elincia to thank for those. She had no need for his confidence when she was making her queenly decisions on her own, at the round table of nobles, not even to make some mysterious deal with Ranulf that he only thought he was beginning to understand. To get him to ask her to dance? It was like she was trying to give him that very confidence instead.

Was that it? She wanted him to have confidence?

A sudden impulse struck Ike, and just as Elincia was bringing her hands down from fixing his headband, he leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. It was short; he quickly leaned back when his senses told him that he had just kissed someone, that someone happened to be his queen, in a public space no less, and that he didn't really have an idea of why he had done it other than the fact that it felt like the right thing to do. In what appeared to be a similar state of shock, Elincia stepped back, her hands still slightly elevated, her cheeks with a bit of a blush. Ike opened his mouth and closed it a few times, unable to form words.

"Sorry, Elincia," Ike finally managed to say. "I don't know what happened, I just – "

"No, it's all right," Elincia answered, strangely calm. Ike had half-expected her to ask accusingly what he thought he was doing – kissing Queen Crimea? In Begnion? – but he realized that his answer would have been the same, that he had no good reason for committing such an action other than the fact that it had felt right at that moment. And it had. From the smile forming on the queen's lips, Ike decided that it had felt right for her, too.

They stood there facing each other in silence for a few moments, like they were waiting for something from the other person.

"Elincia – "

"Ike – "

Just as both of them began their sentences, a faint sound echoed down the hall. It came from very far away, but it was unmistakably the sound of footsteps upon the stone floor. The queen and the general looked at each other urgently for a second, and then Elincia laughed quietly, while a suppressed laugh escaped Ike's mouth. They knew there was so much to say, and yet this was fate's way of telling them that this was perhaps not the time.

"Well, my general, I suppose it is time for us to return to the ballroom," Elincia said. "Shall we?" In response, Ike offered his arm without much of a second thought, and Elincia took it in her hand just as naturally. They walked down the candlelit hallway, reaching the entrance of the ballroom in a few moments, the entrance where they had just begun only a few short hours ago.

They looked at each other for a split second – brown eyes meeting the now unveiled pair of blue – and, laughing, entered the ballroom together to the sound of a waltz.

* * *

><p>This ending was destined to be cheesy in my mind, so I just let it go. It was a lot of fun to write part three, even though at times it felt like there was too much that I wanted to put in... anyways, it's done! Yay.<p>

-emberin


End file.
